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Funk is ending up like the Blues

You're absolutely right about macho rock stars, and there's nothing inherently wrong with sexy women (or men) on stage or in videos. But sexploitation IS a thing and with few exceptions, it's more of a thing in funk/soul/pop (including here Madonna-esque male sexploitation) than in rock. If that's your thing, cool, I'm not voting for Jerry Falwell to lead a crusade to ban it. I mentioned it in the context of comparing "genuine funk" to the characterization of Vulfpeck as "quantized and sterilized".

Seriously, how often do you see a rock band (or blues or jazz or country) having a dozen erotically clad foxes (male or female) jumping around on stage? It happens (think David Lee Roth), but it's not NEARLY as common.

Since you admittedly are not a fan of Funk, has it occurred to you that maybe
you have not seen enough live Funk shows to generalize? I saw dozens of shows between 1971-1996, and the shows with scantily clad women were less than a handful
 
Since you admittedly are not a fan of Funk, has it occurred to you that maybe
you have not seen enough live Funk shows to generalize? I saw dozens of shows between 1971-1996, and the shows with scantily clad women were less than a handful

You're obviously offended. Sorry 'bout that, but it is what it is, and being in denial won't change it.
Stop trying to insult me, I'm trying to be nice!

Nary a scantily clad woman at all when I saw Boosty.



Dammit.

Bootsy don't need no sideshow foxes, he IS the sideshow! (Dr. Cheese - try not to misinterpret that, Bootsy is DA BOMB!)
 
You're obviously offended. Sorry 'bout that, but it is what it is, and being in denial won't change it.
Stop trying to insult me, I'm trying to be nice!



Bootsy don't need no sideshow foxes, he IS the sideshow! (Dr. Cheese - try not to misinterpret that, Bootsy is DA BOMB!)

I find what you say offensive because you claim not to a fan of Funk, and yet you generalize. If you are like most people, you don’t closely follow music that you don’t particularly like. When it comes to Death Metal, the only band I know by name is Cannibal Corpse, and that is because Alex Webster is a great bassist. I know enough to know I have no basis on which to make broad statements about Death Metal. Exactly how many Funk concerts have you actually attended?
 
I find what you say offensive because you claim not to a fan of Funk, and yet you generalize. If you are like most people, you don’t closely follow music that you don’t particularly like. When it comes to Death Metal, the only band I know by name is Cannibal Corpse, and that is because Alex Webster is a great bassist. I know enough to know I have no basis on which to make broad statements about Death Metal. Exactly how many Funk concerts have you actually attended?

I saw James Brown someplace in Harlem when I was a teenager. AWESOME SHOW! I saw Sly and the Family Stone at the Electric Circus (Greenwich Village) in the '60s. AWESOME! I saw Larry Graham in Berkeley in the '70s. AWESOME! EW&F and Tower of Power in Oakland in the '70s/80s. No foxey sideshow at any of those shows. But funk is not my thing, so NO WAY am I gonna pay today's ticket prices to see music that doesn't really turn me on - though, if Stanley Clark, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten were to show up in Denver I WOULD make an exception! That YT video of the show they did was AWESOME (no foxey sideshow)!

BUT.......

Here in the modern world, we don't need to actually go to concerts unless we REALLY want to see the performer. We have something called YOUTUBE. THOUSANDS of LIVE PERFORMANCE videos. I've seen enough funk videos to know that my statement is accurate. I understand about generalizations. You must have missed the part where I said "What I saw was...". Emphasis on "WHAT I SAW". If it makes you feel better here ya go:

"I fully acknowledge that not all live funk shows are dependent on sexploitation to distract the observer from the music. Sometimes, the music is REALLY GOOD!":D:laugh::cool:
 
I saw James Brown someplace in Harlem when I was a teenager. AWESOME SHOW! I saw Sly and the Family Stone at the Electric Circus (Greenwich Village) in the '60s. AWESOME! I saw Larry Graham in Berkeley in the '70s. AWESOME! EW&F and Tower of Power in Oakland in the '70s/80s. No foxey sideshow at any of those shows. But funk is not my thing, so NO WAY am I gonna pay today's ticket prices to see music that doesn't really turn me on - though, if Stanley Clark, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten were to show up in Denver I WOULD make an exception! That YT video of the show they did was AWESOME (no foxey sideshow)!

BUT.......

Here in the modern world, we don't need to actually go to concerts unless we REALLY want to see the performer. We have something called YOUTUBE. THOUSANDS of LIVE PERFORMANCE videos. I've seen enough funk videos to know that my statement is accurate. I understand about generalizations. You must have missed the part where I said "What I saw was...". Emphasis on "WHAT I SAW". If it makes you feel better here ya go:

"I fully acknowledge that not all live funk shows are dependent on sexploitation to distract the observer from the music. Sometimes, the music is REALLY GOOD!":D:laugh::cool:

If you seen that much Funk over the years, you are a fan, whether you admit it or not. If you spend time you have an interest in the genre. I know I don’t spend time watching things on YouTube that does not interest me.

The sexploitation bit sounds like a combination of stereotyping and projection. I have been a serious fan of the music, and I don’t see the sex thing dominating the genre. You see what you see. I have got better things to than continue this interchange any further.
 
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If you seen that much Funk over the years, you are a fan, whether you admit it or not. If you spend time you have an interest in the genre. I know I don’t spend time watching things on YouTube that does not interest me.

Like I said, I'm a fan of THE BASS! It's all about THE BASS!

The sexploitation bit sounds like a combination of stereotyping and projection. I have been a serious fan of the music, and I don’t see the sex thing dominating the genre.

STILL trying to insult me...SIGH!
Actually, you've already admitted to seeing more of it (the foxey sideshow thing) than I have, so......

I have got better things to than continue this interchange any further.

But we were having so much FUN!

Hey man, it's cool. I lit your burner, we went back and forth, It's all good! We're both BASS PLAYERS!:bassist:

PEACE!
 
Funk is no longer the major style of music enjoyed by the community that created it. The same thing happened to the Bues two generations ago.

Ever thus, Doc. Everything starts as niche. Anything worthy of survival finds it's way into mainstream, where it gets a wider audience and becomes a 'thing'. If it survives being a 'thing', it gets analysed, intellectualised, codified, re-distributed and re-absorbed. Invariably, some things get 'lost in translation' as part of that process - this is a mixed blessing, as over-codification can lead to isolation, stagnation and demise, so be careful what you wish for...
It's always been the case that innovators innovate and music on a universal level evolves, expands and enriches itself. I say bring it on...
 
In my personal experience, bass players that are funk fans tend to not be able to 'un-funk' their playing when in other genres. Trying to start a rock band is tough when every bass player is into 'funk, fusion, jazz'.

I don't like funk at all, but I can respect it's existence and musicianship. I just think it's one of those things that 'taint' bass players, in the same way a lot of drummers I've encountered could play insane death metal stuff all day, but couldn't play a simple shuffle to save their life.
 
In my personal experience, bass players that are funk fans tend to not be able to 'un-funk' their playing when in other genres. Trying to start a rock band is tough when every bass player is into 'funk, fusion, jazz'.

I don't like funk at all, but I can respect it's existence and musicianship. I just think it's one of those things that 'taint' bass players, in the same way a lot of drummers I've encountered could play insane death metal stuff all day, but couldn't play a simple shuffle to save their life.
That's not a funk thing, that's what happens when players either aren't well enough versed in other styles or they simply don't have the discipline/respect to adjust their playing to suit the context. The same thing happens with players in jazz, blues, reggae, rock - you name it.
 
That's not a funk thing, that's what happens when players either aren't well enough versed in other styles or they simply don't have the discipline/respect to adjust their playing to suit the context. The same thing happens with players in jazz, blues, reggae, rock - you name it.

You're right. I should have added that it has to do with funk being one of the few genres where the bass stands out, so bass players tend to steer that direction. It's an ego thing.
 
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